Item 7AARIZONA
TEXAS
NEW MEXICO
OKLAHOMA
LEE Encinamnc
May 7, 2015
Steven Anderson, P.E.
City of Southlake
1400 Main Street, Suite 320
Southlake, Texas 76092
Re: 305 S. Nolen Driveway (True Zero Development)
Dear Mr. Anderson:
Per your request, we have reviewed the 305 S. Nolen Driveway location and sight distance exhibit
and offer the following comments.
1. The site plan shows a 12,000 square foot office building with a single proposed access point
to S. Nolen Drive. The driveway is shown lining up with an existing driveway on the west
side of Nolen Drive.
2. Nolen Drive is a four lane undivided arterial roadway at the proposed driveway location.
Nolen Drive carries approximately 8,000 vehicles per day based on the latest traffic counts
available. This volume is well under the capacity of a four lane undivided roadway.
3. The proposed site driveway is located approximately 185' from the nearest driveway to the
north. The nearest driveway to the north is also the planned location of the future Village
Center Drive intersection with Nolen Drive.
o The proposed driveway location does not satisfy spacing requirements in the
Southlake Driveway Ordinance. If this driveway is permitted, it will require a variance
to the spacing requirements.
o If the site driveway was moved south to create the requisite spacing, the left turn
movements into the existing site on the west side of Nolen and the proposed
development would overlap and conflict. This is not desirable. It is better to allow
the driveways on opposite sides of the street to align than to require the 250 foot
spacing distance and create the offset.
o If the driveway is permitted, it should be required to align with the driveway on the
west side of Nolen. A variance to the spacing requirements should be allowable in
order to align the driveways.
4. Based on trip generation estimates for the 12,000 square foot office building, the traffic
volumes served by the proposed driveway are unlikely to warrant either a left -turn or right -
turn lane into the site.
3030 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1660, Dallas, TX 75234
(972) 248-3006 office (972) 248-3855 fax I www.leeengineering.com Page 1 of 2
5. The proposed driveway is located within a horizontal curve. An exhibit was provided for
review depicting both stopping sight distance along Nolen Drive as well as the required
intersection sight distance for left turn traffic exiting the site.
o Adequate stopping sight distance is provided along Nolen Drive for the driveway.
o In order to provide adequate intersection sight distance for traffic exiting the site, a
large visibility triangle must be cleared of underbrush and vegetation. Because a
substantial portion of the intersection sight triangle is on the neighboring property
to the north, consideration should be given to prohibiting the left turn movement
out of the site.
6. The site does not have any cross access to neighboring properties to the north or south.
Cross access typically is useful for providing additional traffic circulation routes to motorists.
Cross access is particularly beneficial along commercial corridors where there is the potential
for a significant number of access driveways with frequent turning movements and the
potential for motorists to visit multiple businesses in the area. Cross access to adjoining
properties may also provide the ability to reduce the number of driveways a development
requires and may allow for alternative driveway configurations such as right-in/right-out.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (972) 248-3006. We appreciate the opportunity to
provide these services and are available to address any additional comments or concerns.
Sincerely,
John Denholm III, P.E., PTOE
Project Manager
Lee Engineering
TBPE Firm F-450
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